Child of Ice
by Valkyrie Elysia
Summary: Aidan knew his powers had to be hidden as he grew up in Corona, even form his best friends the Prince and Princess. But at a ball for visiting royalty, it all comes out and events of the past are set into motion once more. Especially as Elsa and Anna come face to face with Hans, Aidan's father, and the secrets of his life is revealed.
1. Chapter 1

**V.E.: Hello Frozen fandom! This is an unusual fic idea I had some time ago. I am somewhat disappointed that Hans was made a villain, but I can see the potential in the idea. Anyway, I feel like there is definitely potential for him to make a comeback of sorts. Then I kept thinking about when he was struck form the blast when Anna protected Elsa. And that got me thinking….**

**This will eventually have Rapunzel, Eugene, Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa showing up. But not til later.**

**I really only own Nicodemus and the OCs so please give me some credit.**

* * *

It was the middle of the night when a rap at the door woke Nicodemus up from his slumber.

The old man's first thought sitting up from his cozy bed in his small bedroom was that of annoyance. He had barely gotten to sleep little over two hours ago. The man was just about ready to go back to sleep and leave the fool had woken him up to wait until morning. Surely it wasn't that desperate of a problem.

But the knocking kept continuing, the man trying to block out the sound with his pillows. Finally, he sat up angrily and mumbling curses in the ancient language under his breath. _This better be something truly dire, otherwise this idiot will be getting a piece of my mind!_

Getting out of bed, Nicodemus made his way to the small table and basin that was nearby his bed. A candle holder nearby, he lit the white candle almost run completely down which illuminated the mirror and gave us a better look at our alchemist (one of many titles for him, but the one he preferred the most).

As stated, he was an older gentleman that was a tall thin kind, his pale face abounding with every kind of wrinkle as well as a wispy white beard to compensate for his stone bald head (currently covered by his night cap). His ears stuck to the wispy white sideburns, once in his youth they stuck out like sore thumbs. His fingers were also thin and long, which reached out for his spectacles. They soon were in front of his gray eyes, which also shifted with the colors of green and blue like a kaleidoscope.

He took the candle holder to go out of his room (a small one only filled with said table and bed) as he shut the wooden door behind him. He carefully made his way down the stairs, the knocks on the door still just as frequent and loud. He called to the unknown knocker as he reached the downstairs. "I'm coming, you fool! Give me a minute."

It seemed the person outside had heard him as the pounding did stop as Nicodemus was given the chance to cross over the floor, past his work station and kitchen (it made things messy sometimes, but where else was there room to put a kitchen?). He finally reached the door and opened it, an impressive looking figure as he held the candle to see what was going on.

A cloaked figure in dark gray stood before, his arms crossed as the man seemed to shiver uncontrollably. His hands seemed to be rubbing the arms in an attempt to warm up. The head quirked up at the light, showing Nicodemus this was a young man before him.

The man's voice was smooth but quick, almost desperate. "Are you the one they call Nicodemus?"

The old man nodded, but was ready to get to the point. "Yes, I am. Now what the devil's name are you doing waking me up in this ungodly hour of the morning?"

The cloaked man shivered again as he spoke. "I hear that you have done wonderful things in terms of magic…everyone says you're the best."

Now the old man was ready to roll his eyes. _Oh boy, here we go again. Another admirer that wants to be taken on as an apprentice._

It seemed like the unnamed person was unaware of the feelings this produced in the old man as he went on speaking. "They say you saved a noble girl from drowning."

_That was no miracle, all I had to do was cut her corset so the poor girl could breathe. Honestly, the looks on her friends' faces were comical._

"Though you weren't there, a rumor says that you were the one who suggested the power of the mythical golden flower when the Queen of Corona was on her deathbed."

If he wasn't holding a lit candle, Nicodemus would have crossed his arms but his answer showed his annoyance. "One shouldn't believe in every rumor you hear." _Good thing Gothel never knew about that. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be alive._

The young man coughed then, a rather hacking and deep cough, then went on. "And my…the late queen of the Southern Isles, swore onto her death-bed that you saved her elder brother from a dark curse and…"

The old man starting to have quite enough of that and made ready to shut the door in the man's face. "Yes well, I do not take apprentices and I don't very much enjoy some rumor fool showing up for a magic. Good day, _sir_.

He was just slamming the door shut, before it was stopped by the young man. Breathing heavily, the young man stood there in defiance as Nicodemus stared the young man down.

Finally, the young man had gathered enough to speak. "I don't need…any of that. Please…I just need your help."

Intrigued but still guarded, Nicodemus cracked the door open again and was then stuck by this man's shivering. Sure it was September, but it wasn't that cold. This man acted as if it was the dead of winter or something. Finally, he spoke. "So if you're not here for a job or a show, what are you here for?"

The man stepped back slowly and pushed off his cape.

Nicodemus was sure his eyes grew a few sizes.

The young man was dressed in noble clothes that seemed to have more wear than a normal suit. His red hair and sideburns surrounded a rather handsome (though incredibly dirty) face that looked like the man was in his early twenties, green eyes that also held secrets. His hands were smooth obviously never having done any real work in his life. Over all, the man stood with just the sort of breeding of a noble or royal.

Except for the icy whiteness that seemed ready to engulf his whole body.

It mostly centered around his chest toward the heart, but was spreading. His left hand and arm to have a trial of the icy white as did a good portion of his chest and probably the edges of his back. Several strands of his hair were completely white.

Even chattering through his teeth, the man still sounded desperate. "Can you…do something?"

Nicodemus stepped out of the way to make an entrance for the young man. "No promises."

* * *

Fire was good to Hans as was the warm drink that the old man made him drink as he was seated on a small table. For the past half an hour, the old man had examined the growing iciness on his body.

The workshop was somewhat messy with a cauldron near the fire and all sorts of papers and ingredients spread out all over. But Hans knew that this wasn't like the doctors that made house calls for the royals. Besides, after the dungeons, this shack in middle of nowhere was a piece of cake.

He felt a little less chilly, but still his body still shook with the ice inside him. The old man hardly spoke as he examined Hans, the ex-prince somewhat grateful as he didn't ask too many questions.

And that was part of the reason he sought out old Nicodemus. Along with the fact the man was an impressive healer and rumored to have magical powers, the man also lived in the middle of the old woods and was a notorious for his contact with people. The privacy was worth it.

But it seemed his temporary doctor had caught on more than Hans had thought as the old man spoke. "Come from the royal dungeons, haven't you?"

He sharply turned to face the old man, who merely looked at him straightly. "You're wearing noble clothes, but they look they've worn for a very long time. That means you haven't had a change of clothes in a long time. You wear them like a second skin, so you couldn't have stolen it."

Hans only raised an eyebrow. "And why would you possibly say I come from the royal dungeon?"

"Where else would a noble or royal charged with treason be kept? Besides, your condition's deterioration suggest you haven't had too much sunlight or warmth. Even in the hottest summer, that dungeon is one of the coldest places in this kingdom. I should know, I've seen enough bodies from there."

Hans groaned as Nicodemus spoke again after a pause.

"I am no fool, _Prince Hans_."

It was a shot of coldness spread through him as he turned sharply and winced as he felt the ice's grip near his heart getting stronger.

Nicodemus quickly moved to his patient, moving him to sit back down instead of getting up like he wanted to. "Don't move, it will only make the ice spread faster."

Hans looked at the old man with an assessing look. "You're not going to call anyone."

The old man's multicolored look was incredulous. "Goodness, no. I've had enough attention from court to last me a lifetime. And in all experience, I've never come across a case like yours."

That caused the former prince to breathe a sigh of some relief before going back to shivering. Nicodemus led his inspection near where the heart was. "Do you have any idea what caused this?"

The red streaked with white head shook his head. "No. At first, it reminded me of Princess Anna when her heart was frozen, but that's impossible since Queen Elsa never touched me."

Nicodemus nodded curtly. "Ah yes, I've heard of the _Snow Queen _and your little trip to Arendelle last July."

His patience was ready to roll his eyes. "If you're going to tell me how cold hearted I am…"

The old man shook his head quickly. "Boy, I've treated enough people with blacker hearts than yours to know not to pass judgment. Besides, cold hearted is a rather cheap shot for you right now."

Hans was quiet as the examination went on, finally asking when Nicodemus stepped back. "Can you do anything?"

Nicodemus seemed to contemplating Hans like a huge puzzle, a problem in which the solution was not easy to see with so many pieces still not put together. "Possibly. I've never worked with Ice magic before….."

"PLEASE. I am begging you."

The old man's eyes studied him curiously and intently. "You want to live."

He responded firmly, though he could still feel the cold. "Yes."

"Why? You're a fugitive prince that has been disowned and whose life has no value except as a loose end. You have nothing left. What is there to live for?"

The cold factual way the healer described his life didn't seem to faze Hans as his face morphed into something both determined and slightly disturbing. "Revenge."

For the first time, Nicodemus felt like backing away, but still kept his ground. "Against the Queen of Arendelle and her sister?"

Hans shook his head, dispelling his look of utter hate for now. "Oh no, that was completely my own folly. I was the one who was stupid enough to mouth off my plan while Princess Anna was still alive. In fact, I have an earnest desire never to see those two again. It'd be pointless anyway."

"Probably best for your neck. Anyway, the magic I have _might _be able to help…"

He didn't see why the old man was being so hesitant then, his voice as authoritative as the prince he once was. "Then do it then!"

Nicodemus pushed his spectacles up. "It's not that simple. What I will do, is separating any magic from you. In theory, it seems simple enough, but removing magic that is volatile is dangerous. It might take on a new form when I remove it. Also, if the magic has spread more than I think, I won't be able to get all of it and you may die anyway."

Hans took that all in, still knowing what his best chance was. He lifted his head back up to nod firmly. "Do it. Now."

Nicodemus accepted the decision and moved towards a small little red bottle and handed it to the convict prince. "Drink this."

Hans uncorked the bottle and took a few gulps. He stopped after that and looked at the bottle questioningly. "What is this supposed to do, calm the magic?"

Then his face turned still and statue like as his eyes rolled back and he fell backwards onto the table.

Nicodemus went to the bookshelf where he laced some of the tomes of his old master. "No, shut you up. Can't have you getting upset during this."

His long thing fingers scanned the many dusty old books until they finally came upon a large white book whose spine displayed ancient runes. He brought it out, flipping through the musty yellowed pages like mad.

Finally he found the page he was looking for; a great wizard using his magic staff to coax pure magic out of a magic crystal. Nicodemus was a little wary about this spell, as he had never heard it being used on a human before, but the former prince wanted it.

The old man raised a shaky arm, his hand open as he began chanting in the olden language. _"Earth, Wind, Fire, Water. Spirits of Light and Dark. Pillars of Magic, answer my call…"_

As the olden words fell from his mouth, he felt something shaking within his house as the prince lay completely still. He concentrated his thoughts as he continued the chant. _"Stronger than any man, split the magic from this vessel so that it may be used to aid the world."_

Hans was moving, painfully grimacing as the cold was filling the room. But the iciness that Hans had seemed to be traveling, the white leaving his hair and the paleness of his body lessening as the magic, as it all traveled to one place.

His heart.

Nicodemus finished the chant full of power. _"Split the magic apart, break the frozen heart!"_

Above Hans, it seemed as if the magic burst from his chest. A condensed ball of blue magic that seemed to be swirling with snowflakes appeared.

Nicodemus guided the ball of ice magic away from the red-headed prince, on to the opposite side of the room. It took all his concentration as he gently, _gently _guided. _Please work, please work._

Finally, the magic was safely away from the fire. Nicodemus breathed easily. _That went better than I thought. _

However, he seemed he had spoken too soon.

The Snow Magic shifted, changing forms constantly as the light grew brighter. It finally got to a brightness, that Nicodemus covered his eyes and prayed for the protection of whatever higher power there was in this world.

The light died down and Nicodemus warily lowered his arms and looked to see whether he was still in this world.

He was and the house was unharmed as was his patient. But his jaw dropped when he saw what was now in place of the ice magic.

* * *

As he came to, Hans swore he heard something like a baby's whimper, but his conscious dismissed that as he woke up to see the ceiling of Nicodemus' cottage.

He shot up as he felt over the places of his body the icy magic used to. It was all gone. All gone and for the first time in months, he was _warm_. His smile was something that hadn't graced his face since he was a young child.

Then his ears perked as he realized the whimpers were not a figment of his imagination. He turned to find Nicodemus on the opposite end of the room, now examining something in a basket.

Hans didn't wonder as he asked. "What happened? Am I really cured?"

Nicodemus was startled as he turned back to the prince, almost as if he forgot the young escapee was even there. He seemed frazzled, but still spoke. "Well, I have no good news and bad news. The good news is, is that the magic seems to be successful removed from your system."

That was huge relief for Hans, but he was still cautious by the man's expression. "And what's the bad news?"

The old man flinched at that, the colors in his eyes rather subdued. "Well…do you remember when I said about the magic taking on a new form?"

Hans was utterly confused as to where he was going with it, until the whimpering turned to a small cry as he realized it was coming from the basket. A little woozy on his feet, he got up and nonetheless walked over to the other side of the room and looked into the basket.

He did not expect what he saw.

A newborn baby with wispy auburn hair was wrapped in the material of Nicodemus' old tablecloth, squirmed in its temporary bed. What startled Hans was that the baby looked familiar and it was a sight he well knew.

Royal children were familiar with their baby portraits. And this child looked like Hans as a baby.

Then, even though it was too young, the baby opened its eyes and looked directly at Hans.

Ice Blue. Just like Queen Elsa.

Something akin to smile spread across the baby's face as it cooed, opening its tightly clenched little fists.

Conjuring out a few tiny snowflakes into the air.

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**V.E.: Like? Hate? Continue?**

**Review?**


	2. Chapter 2

**V.E.: Well, it looks like the time has come to shed some light into what the hell just happened with Hans and Nicodemus last chapter. There are a bunch of questions that need to be answered.**

**Like how on Earth was a human born from ice magic? We've seen Olaf and Marshmallow, but a human baby is a bit different than that. Well, stick around and I'll explain it as best as I can for now.**

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Han sighed as he took another sip of hot tea, breaking from his story for a moment. "I still don't understand how this could have happened."

Nicodemus put down his own cup and looked gravely at the prince, the two close to the blazing fire. Right in the basket across the room, the newborn was currently cooing, playing with the little bits of snow it realized it could create. Nonetheless, the old man urged on. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. Now, you were talking about how the blizzard stopped."

The former royal nodded, remembering the place he had stopped. "Yes, the storm stopped when I told Elsa her sister was dead because of her."

He was about to go on, when he realized a look form the old man that looked surprisingly like reproach for lying and leaving a woman to her death while attempting to kill her sister. "I thought you said you weren't into judging."

Nicodemus held up his hand to dismiss and urge him to continue. "Sorry, knee jerk reaction of mine. Continue, what happened after that?"

"Well, I crept up with my sword ready to strike the blow with Elsa crying over her sister's _supposed _death, when all of a sudden Anna appeared."

His doctor perked up at that, the noise of the small baby still in the background. "How was she doing with the ice then?"

Han's green eyes scrunched in memory. "The ice had spread more, probably from being out in the cold. She raised her hand to stop my sword from getting her sister. Then…she turned to pure ice."

That got Nicodemus attention. "Pure ice?!"

He shrugged. "Or crystal, I don't know. All I know is that it was strong enough to break my sword. As it did, a huge force from it seemed to push me back and knocked me unconscious. The next thing I know, I'm coming to on a ship, the eternal winter is gone, and I get punched into the sea from a no longer Frozen Princess Anna. More or less, you can guess what happened next."

He finished, but his tone shifted from annoyed to confusion as he saw Nicodemus lean back into his chair with an unnamable expression on his face and stroke his beard. "An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart…."

He started to feel some concern for the old man's mind at that. "Yes, that's what Anna told me earlier."

That only increased the man's beard stroking. "Where could she have found that out?"

The way Nicodemus said it perked Hans' interest. "Is it some sort of cure only special magicians know?"

The older gentleman shook his head at that, ready to explain some things. "No, not exactly. Love is much like magic, a force that is powerful and strange that is quite unexplainable more times than not. No magician can tell you why a force like true love seems to conquer the strongest of curses or change people into something better."

He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "But now I've heard your story, I can probably guess some things. For starters, the reason Anna was no longer frozen when you woke up was that her own act of true love for her sister saved her."

That surprised Hans as he spoke his thoughts. "But I thought true love meant…"

The magician waved him down. "True love does not necessarily mean romantic love; it can also be familial or friendship. Romantic love is just the one more commonly thought of. True love is more specifically defined like the Greek love termed as _agape_, unconditional and willing to give up your life for that person even if the love may not be requited."

The idea of loving someone enough to die for them confused Hans, then again he never admitted himself to being an expert of love. He never had any friends, never got beyond a woman with more than simple courtly flirting, and his family…well, that was a whole other story.

His attention was brought back as Nicodemus began to speak again. "I'm not entirely sure about the pure ice thing, but normal ice should have not been able to break a sword of pure steel and force you unconscious. Then again this is ice by magic, so there might be a more of stretch here, especially with what you've told me of the Queen's powers. What she has done is astounding…"

Once again, the former prince felt a little lost and asked. "What do you mean?"

"From what you've told me, it seems like Elsa has had very little control over her magic until recently. Since magic is often controlled by a person's emotions, it would make sense. But what she's been able to create seems to counteract this statement. Creating a palace of complete ice and a snow creature to guard her, these things require great power and great skill. Not to mention, the fact that eternal winter was unintentional as she had no idea what happened or how to stop it. So it might be that Elsa's magic has the capability to do some quite unintentional things."

Nicodemus stopped and reached over to take the hot tea into his hands again. He sipped after that long explanation. Hans looked down at his own tea which had gone quite cold so he placed it on the small table. He glanced back over to where the basket bed was, ice and snow still shooting up from it.

For a moment, he felt his lips twitch into an almost smile before he caught himself and turned back to the old magician. For a split second, the old man looked amused at the prince's subconscious gesture before going on. "And I think that can explain my next thing, why you had the ice curse on you. That force of Elsa's magic bounced off of Anna when her act of true love happened and indirectly latched onto your heart. Because it wasn't a literal blast, the effects weren't immediately apparent and was made worse by your living conditions in the cold, dank dungeon."

Hans nodded his head, taking the information in before glancing to the baby still playing with the ice magic. "Okay that explains some stuff, but why did the magic when it was separated from me take on the form of a baby?"

At that, Nicodemus straightened himself out. "I have no actual facts, but I have a theory why that might be. Before I start, how much do you know about your family history, more specifically the Crest of the Southern Isles Royal Family?"

Once again, confusion was across the red head's face. "What does a golden red bird have to do with any of this?"

Nicodemus' expression was utterly serious. "That bird is a phoenix and there's quite a story behind it. Before the Southern Isles was a country, legend says an older kingdom dwelt in these lands. But it was ruled by a wicked sorcerer, whose familiar was a giant phoenix which he sent to destroy the rebellion that tried to over throw him. Before the bird could burn them all, he stopped for a young general, who calmed the beast with a pure heart. With the phoenix no longer on the sorcerer's side, he fell and the same general became the new king.

"Before the phoenix flew away, it is said it imbued the king with a portion of his power, perhaps in thanks for helping him. It is never exactly said what powers that entailed, but some say the power passed to his descendants as many were able to survive fires with very little burns."

Han seemed pretty skeptical of the story with his expression and made his thoughts known. "That sounds rather unbelievable."

The old man smiled at that. "No more unbelievable than a flower grown from a drop of sun or a magic mirror that will answer any question truthfully. Again, magic is powerful and unexplainable. And considering that man was your ancestor, you may want to have a little more faith in it."

"But I still don't see what it has to do with anything."

"Fire and Ice."

Hans straightened himself up at that. "Excuse me?"

Once again, the old man set the tea down to get into a serious topic. "Fire and Ice are two contrasting powers in magic. One might think that one would cancel out the other, when in fact they would amplify each other's affects dramatically. When the ice magic of the queen latched onto the blood of someone blessed with a dormant gift of magic involving fire, it's quite possible the magic reacted.

"When I separated the magic from you, it's quite possible that some of the fire blessing of your ancestor got mixed in with the snow and ice, therefore creating something new."

The two turned their heads toward the basket, no longer with snow coming from it as if the newborn had gotten a little bored with it already.

Hans was the one who spoke then. "So let me get this straight, are you saying that this child could be consider mine and Queen Elsa's son from magic?"

"In a way, yes."

That prompted a few minutes of silence of a stunned Hans who could only voice one thing at that. "What now then?"

Nicodemus seemed pensive. "Yes, that's good question. There will be very few places for you flee with that child now that you're a wanted fugitive."

Han looked at the old man as if he was crazy. "I can't take him with me! I'm…"

The old man looked completely serious as he explained his stance. "The child may be a newborn, but he seems to have already connected with you. If you two were to be separated, I doubt his emotions would be able to handle since that is where his ice magic comes from. In other words, you can't leave him on his own. When he gets older, it'll be easier."

Hans sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "This makes things even harder."

"If I may ask, did you have any idea where you were going to go after this?"

Hans looked at the old man with a tired expression. "To be honest, I only thought this far ahead. And breaking out of the dungeons is no easy task, I imagine my brothers will send out an extensive search party to look for me once they find out. If they don't know already."

Nicodemus clasped his heads together. "Then allow me another question. By any chance, do you have connections to Corona?"

Hans shook his head immediately. "No, none at all."

That caused the old man to smile. "Perfect, no one would go looking for you there then. Especially in the woods."

Hans narrowed his green eyes at the man in suspicion. "What exactly are you proposing?"

"Allow to me explain. I had a…._old friend_ of sorts who used to live in Corona, in a rather secluded spot most people can't find if they don't already know where it is. It's a tower in sort of secret spot in the words, it would be perfect place for the boy to grow up and to learn to control his powers, away from prying eyes. Not to mention, it provide with anonymity that you need."

The prince wanted some more information on this. "What happened to this old friend of yours?"

An odd expression passed through Nicodemus again. "She…died. She was a very old woman."

Hans let that go, though he felt there was more to the story than that. "And so how would I get to this place?"

"I would take you there."

Once again, Hans felt incredible suspicion of the old man. "Why are you doing this?"

Nicodemus's eyes were sharp, though still twinkled with the many colors of usual. "I don't do this for you Prince Hans, I'm doing it for that child. He'll need someone to help him learn how to control and focus his powers. Also, you'd have less of a chance of arousing the suspicion of the guards with me and that child, then you would on your own."

The two men stared each other down for several moments, neither bending nor breaking. Finally, Hans sighed. "I never imagined my life would be this."

"Many lives turn out very differently than what people expect them. I'll need to set things in order along with sorting through my supplies to take with us now and ones to return for later."

The two were drawn form their own conversation to the basket as a rising cry began to grow in volume. They glanced at each other for a moment before Hans took off near the basket, staring down to find the little baby starting to cry.

As soon as his eyes opened though and saw Hans, the newborn cooed and raised his hands, wanting to be picked up. Hans obliged before he even knew what he was doing, cradling the child back and forth.

He didn't realize Nicodemus came up behind him until he heard the old healer's voice. "You'll have to give him a name."

Hans went from looking at Nicodemus to the child, who's powers were acting up again as he threw out a few snowflakes. He stared at him for a moment before coming to a decision. "Aidan."

Nicodemus seemed surprised at that name. "You're going to name a child with ice powers, 'fiery'?'

"It fits."

Nicodemus searched Hans' face before bowing his head softly. "As you wish."

The newly named Aidan wasn't even aware of what had passed between his birth and now, only yawned and closed his eyes to settle into dreamless slumber.

* * *

**V.E.: Next chapter will be Aidan as a young child. Then after that I hope to introduce some other OCs that will be making appearances.**

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	3. Chapter 3

**V.E.: Oh Child of Ice, now I am really just doing filler stuff with Aidan growing up. At least next chapter will be fun since that is when I will introduce Tangled's next generation. For now, we're just with Nicodemus, Aidan, and a bit of Hans.**

**Quote for the chapter:** '**Before you love, Learn to run through the snow, Leaving no footprint" — Turkish Proverb **

* * *

"Concentrate."

Aidan's blue eyes narrowed as he concentrated at the space between his hands, his thoughts wanting to will something to be. Sure enough, the snowflakes with the blue snow magic appeared and shifted.

It was an unusual sight for any normal person for the background alone, few people knew about the protected glade with a tower in Corona's forest (two of which had vowed never to go near the place again so long as they lived, terrible experiences on their minds and a kingdom to run instead). The young boy and the old man were outside the tower they called home, still both inviting and intimidating to behold. The water in distance could be heard as were the birds chirping on the fine spring day that it was.

It would have been a portrait perfect spring day if not for the waves of frost that surrounded the old man and young boy as there seemed to be a lesson going on between the two.

Nicodemus patiently offered his council in his dark blue robes as the icy magic Aidan was controlling as if shifted with Aidan's changing expressions. "Picture what you want it to look like and focus that image onto the snow. Concentrate."

Aidan's face showed his struggle as the snow shifted more and more, finally glowing brightly as Aidan shut eyes quickly for fear of it blowing up again.

A few seconds passed, he warily opened one of his eyes as he felt something in the palm of his hand instead of the frost on his face.

Where the ice magic one was, a spirit of ice of snow in the shape of a bird nestled in the palm of his hands. It perked up, tilting its head toward Aidan before flapping its wings and taking off. It chirped in a clear high pitch and circled its creator, Aidan's face breaking out in a smile as he spun to catch all of the bird's movements. Once it was done with its circle, the ice bird flew up beyond the wall that protected the little hiding spot and out into the bigger world.

Aidan watched it leave with a smile before it slowly died.

Nicodemus smiled with his student's progress, his student's back to him. "That was good Aidan, now let's try a different form this time."

Aidan glanced back at his teacher before remembering the lesson. "Oh, right."

The young boy of about five turned around and formed his hands back to its old position, but his face didn't narrow in concentration like before.

Nicodemus noticed the change in his student, his multicolored eyes gleaming gravely. "Aidan, is there something wrong?"

Aidan lowered his hands at that, glancing in discomfort before finally mustering his courage up. "Grandpa Nico?"

The old man smiled at the boy's name for him. "Yes?"

"Can I ask a question?"

Nicodemus' eyes twinkled this time with amusement. "Didn't you just? What do you want to know?"

"Why do we live in the middle of the forest in a tower?"

The old sorcerer opened his mouth before closing it, pondering how best to say it to him at the age he was now. While doing that, Nicodemus took an in-depth look at the young boy that had grown up so fast in his eyes.

Aidan was (much like he was as a baby) looked so much like Hans that no one could doubt who was his father. With red hair, pale freckled skin, and thick eyebrows, there were only a few things that differed that differed from the former Prince of the Southern Isles. The deep ice blue eyes were probably from Elsa and the snow powers that were caused by her magic definitely came from her. Outside of that, there were a few facial characteristic like his nose or around the lips that Nicodemus didn't recognize and neither did Hans. Then again, no one ever said a child was completely like his parents.

Especially in attitude. If Aidan was Han's reborn physically, he was completely opposite personality wise. The boy seemed to be very curious, bright (more so than Nicodemus would have expected for his age), perhaps a little shy, but was not at all vain or attention seeking like Nicodemus knew that Hans was like (one does notice things about a person's character after living with them for a number of years). Perhaps taking more after Elsa in this way, but Nicodemus honestly didn't know having never met the Queen.

He wondered sometimes how she would react to the news she had a son with the man who had tried to kill her and her sister. Probably not very well.

Nicodemus saw Aidan patiently waiting for answer, in normal clothes with a dark blue vest over a white shirt with short sleeve and black trousers with the cheapest shoes that Nicodemus had found in his size in the city.

He smiled as he finally answered. "Because of your powers."

That didn't seem to satisfy the young boy as he began the dreaded question game no adult wanted to be subjected to. "Why?"

"Because you're young and don't have the best of control over them. When that happens, you'll be able to hide your powers more easily."

That sentence only served to confuse the young boy even more a she glanced at his hands then back at his own teacher. "Why do I need to hide to my magic? It's not like its bad."

The old man's tone went more seriously. "You'd be surprised."

Once again, the words provoked the young boy's curiosity. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"People tend to be scared of something they don't understand. Magic is one of many things most people don't understand. And people being scared is the last thing you want."

"I don't understand. What can snow and ice do?"

The old magic user had to resist the urge to snort. _Tell that to the people Arendelle. _"Let's just say with the right intention, any magic can be harmful. That's a few questions I've answered, can we get back to the lesson at hand?"

Aidan resigned himself back to the lesson at hand and got his hands back into position. "OKAY."

The boy concentrated for about a half of a minute before he spoke again. "You think I could go into town someday?"

Nicodemus rolled his eyes at how he knew that the boy wouldn't stop asking questions. "I'll talk to your father about it, if you get back to your lesson. Now focus."

* * *

Nicodemus cleared his throat on the small stool as he read the last bit of the story on the book he had pulled from his shelf, the fireplace crackling and bringing a cozy feel to the tower decorated with the many paintings. Aidan laid on the floor with his hands holding up his head as he listened dot the old man finish the tale. "And so the prince carried Snow White in his arms, placed her on his horse, and they walked off into the distance as she bade goodbye to the Seven Dwarves. They rode off to his castle, were married, and lived happily ever after."

To which the red-headed boy groaned. "Do all fairy tales have to have mushy romance in them?"

Nicodemus considered that for a moment. "Well, I suppose all the ones with princesses and most girls in it do."

Aidan rolled his eyes at that, displaying good old boy disgust to all things considered 'girly'. "Well, next time can we read a fairy tale without girls? I can't stand all the kissy stuff."

"Well, there are a lot of fairy tales with princesses in them…"

Aidan's face was truly annoyed. "Well if they're like Snow White, I'd rather avoid them anyway."

"Why, didn't you like the story?"

Aidan thought about that as he answered. "Well the dwarves were pretty cool I guess, but Snow White was just boring. All she did was smile and sing about her prince and get animals to work for her. And she was kind of stupid too. I mean, who takes an apple from a strange lady after the dwarves warned her not to trust strangers?"

Nicodemus sat up in the small stool as he looked at the young boy inquisitively. "Well, that was actually the point of these fairy tales. It was teach children important lessons, in this case 'don't trust strangers'."

"Wouldn't that also apply to the prince? I mean, she knew the guy for a day and she was willing to go off and marry him just like that? You can't just marry someone you just met."

**(AN: Takes after his mother, in more ways than he knows.)**

The old man opened his mouth before thinking and then answering, realizing how mature he was for his age. "You know what, I don't know. Still, fairy tales aren't meant to be taken literally."

Aidan shrugged before returning his attention to Nicodemus. "Whatever. At least the Evil Queen was interesting with her magic."

Nicodemus nodded, thinking of something. "Remind to read you _Sleeping Beauty_ one of these days."

"Is the princess as bad as this one?"

Nicodemus responded gently and thoughtfully. "Some would say worse, but the Evil Fairy is much more powerful and interesting."

The young boy considered it for a moment before nodding. "I guess I could try to stand it."

An amused voice intruded on the conversation and caused the tow to notice Hans now standing by the trap door that led down to the tower's entrance. The former prince was now dressed in more common clothes than his princely ones and he had a brown satchel over one on his shoulders. "Try to stand what?"

Aidan immediately stood up straight though his head facing down, dusting himself as he addressed his father. "Just a fairy tale Grandpa Nico wants read me."

Hans nodded curtly, silence reigning for a few moments before he spoke. "Did your finish your work today?"

Aidan kept his attention on the floor as he answered. "Yes sir."

"Do you eat your dinner?"

"Yes sir."

Hans nodded. "Good, run up and get ready for bed then."

Aidan nodded slowly walking by the man. "Good night…Father."

Once that had been said, the young boy shuffled onto the steps and once reaching the top, closed the door behind him.

Nicodemus shot a rather condemning look at the former prince. "Well, that went well. At least better than when you said goodbye a few days ago."

Hans sighed as he walked over and handed over the satchel to the old man. "Somehow, I get the feeling he knows how awkward this is for me."

Nicodemus took the satchel, standing up to go over to the table and sort out the potions that hadn't been sold today and the bag with the money made. "It might help if you actually made an effort."

"I'm trying."

Nicodemus' response was firm. "Then try harder. How was haul this time?"

Hans nodded, remembering the things he sold in the city.

"Well, it's a good things I know how to charm buyers. The ladies of the town want more of that potion for clear skin."

Nicodemus absently nodded as he took out his small journal and totaled what was gained, lost, and what to do next time. "Noted."

Hans sighed deeply as he rubbed his neck, Nicodemus stopping to turn around and talk after it had all been written down. "Aidan's been asking questions. About living here."

Hans seemed resigned to that. "Well, it was bound to happen eventually. This is hardly a normal childhood and Aidan is far from normal."

Nicodemus commented on that before going on. "What is considered normal? Anyway, his control is getting better, so I was thinking…"

Hans looked at the old skeptically. "Go on."

"If he keeps getting better, maybe you should take him with you to the village. It would be a good incentive."

The red-haired ex royal considered the plan for a moment before nodding slowly. "I suppose if it's only for a little while…and if Aidan wears gloves."

Nicodemus assured him quickly. "Covered on that, best way to disguise the magic. Besides, it'll good for him to start getting used to people in small doses. Better control that way."

Han nodded and sighed. "Alright, I'll take him when you think he's got enough control."

* * *

Aidan slumped onto his bed in his plain night-clothes, gazing up at the painting filled wall. Despite the other walls of his room that had been painted over the paintings, the ceiling was one place his Father or Nicodemus didn't try to reach. Even if it was the kind of stuff girls should be interested in, it was kind of nice to look up at the ceiling and guess all the things that were up there. _I wonder who painted all this stuff anyway._

Aidan sat up again and glanced down at his hands, a smile on his face as he went back to the position from earlier and the ice magic formed again a few waves of his hands and a lot of concentration formed a little snowman.

Aidan went down to floor and placed his little snow creation there. Waving his hands, the little snowman danced as Aidan giggled at the fun. _I wonder if I could do this with a bigger snowman._

* * *

**V.E.: A small chapter in the grand scheme of things. In other words, mostly filler.**

**By the way, MysteryGirl7Freak mentioned a gypsy girl during a PM in response to my response. Believe it or not, a character like that will come up later. Be patient.**

**Please review.**


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